The 2014 All-Time Albums Poll - The FINAL, Final Results

[DocBrown]

#180
Wire
Pink Flag
1977
No. of Voters 18 Score 771.05
Rank in AM 3000 263
Rank in 2011 Poll 238
Top Fans Brad (3), McJagger (43), Jackson (46)

Perhaps the most original debut album to come out of the first wave of British punk, Wire's Pink Flag plays like The Ramones Go to Art School -- song after song careens past in a glorious, stripped-down rush.
From a review by Steve Huey in AllMusic

#179
Black Sabbath
Paranoid
1970
No. of Voters 16 Score 772.42
Rank in AM 3000 160
Rank in 2011 Poll 327
Top Fans Henrik (24), Bruno (41), LiveinPhoenix (45)





#178
The Who
Tommy
1969
No. of Voters 16 Score 773.47
Rank in AM 3000 121
Rank in 2011 Poll 166
Top Fans Stephan (14), Henry (16), Bruno (23)

… the group spent most of the spring and summer touring the US and Canada but their stage act relied on Townshend smashing his guitar or Moon demolishing his drums, which kept the group in debt. Townshend and Lambert realised they needed a larger vehicle for their music than hit singles…
From the Wikipedia article Tommy

#177
The Jesus and Mary Chain
Psychocandy
1985
No. of Voters 15 Score 775.31
Rank in AM 3000 86
Rank in 2011 Poll 144
Top Fans McJagger (27),Otisredding (37), Chris K (46)

… it came to the JAMC’s attention that electric guitars, when paired with high amplifier volume and harmonic distortion, could create feedback, thereby producing aggressive noises mostly on their own, and freeing their actual players to stand around looking half dead, depressed, and generally too contemptuous and disgusted to really bother playing-- all of which seemed, in 1985 and in the particular case of the JAMC, totally super-awesome.
Review of Honey’s Dead by Nitsuh Abebe, Pitchfork

#176
The Velvet Underground
White Light/White Heat
1968
No. of Voters 13 Score 777.46
Rank in AM 3000 206
Rank in 2011 Poll 140
Top Fans McJagger (18), Brad (32), Jirin (39)

“I’m in there with a B.A. in English – I’m no naif,” Reed told me shortly before his death. “And being in with that crowd, the improvisers, the film-makers, of course it would affect where I was going. We said it a hundred times; people thought we were being arrogant and conceited. We’re reading those authors, watching those Jack Smith movies. What did you think we were going to come out with?”
From Overloaded by David Fricke in MOJO: The Big Read

#175
The Smiths
The Smiths
1984
No. of Voters 20 Score 783.26
Rank in AM 3000 180
Rank in 2011 Poll 157
Top Fans Chevisan (43), Michel (48), GucciLittlePiggy (96)

The US and UK versions of this album are only separated by one song: “This Charming Man”. So, you may ask, “What Difference Does It Make”? (Yes, I went there).
From an RYM review by Listyguy

#174
The Beatles
Let It Be
1970
No. of Voters 16 Score 785.65
Rank in AM 3000 612
Rank in 2011 Poll 170
Top Fans Stone37(22), Daniel (36), Henry (53)





#173
The Kinks
Something Else by The Kinks
1967
No. of Voters 20 Score 795.53
Rank in AM 3000 353
Rank in 2011 Poll 184
Top Fans Honorio (78), Stone37 (86)

When they are doing their things, the Kinks are marvelous to listen to. The listener is amused and confused, enchanted and entertained, and always questioning. And Something Else is the Kinks at their questionable best, their thing.
James Pomeroy in Rolling Stone, March 9, 1968

#172
Kendrick Lamar
good kid, m.A.A.d. city
2012
No. of Voters 15 Score 808.08
Rank in AM 3000 300
Rank in 2011 Poll N/A
Top Fans GucciLittlePiggy (15), PlasticRam (36), Schaefer.tk (39)





#171
Vampire Weekend
Modern Vampires of the City
2013
No. of Voters 15 Score 811.96
Rank in AM 3000 268
Rank in 2011 Poll N/A
Top Fans DocBrown (18), GucciLittlePiggy (24), Zorg (34)

[Listyguy]

Where are the "Paranoid" fans?

[DocBrown]

Where are the "Paranoid" fans?

Who's asking? I don't know any Paranoid fans. I wasn't even there man. That's not my baggie.

[DocBrown]

#170
Coldplay
A Rush of Blood to the Head
2002
No. of Voters 18 Score 816.84
Rank in AM 3000 288
Rank in 2011 Poll 206
Top Fans Whuntva (25), Daniel (29), GucciLittlePiggy (37)

Unfortunately, I can’t quote from Moonbeam’s RYM review here because it wouldn’t work out of context. Just go there.




#169
Mercury Rev
Deserter’s Songs
1998
No. of Voters 18 Score 820.54
Rank in AM 3000 381
Rank in 2011 Poll 162
Top Fans Luvulong (57), Romain (62), Dan (69), Zorg (69)

I can’t explain it properly but this album always reminds me of Christmas time. In fact last year I played it while my children and I were decorating the Christmas tree. But (fortunately) my kids don’t understand enough English to catch the sense of lyrics about eyes that “explode like two bugs on glass”. Poisoned lullabies.
An RYM review by Honorio

#168
Slint
Spiderland
1991
No. of Voters 16 Score 834.92
Rank in AM 3000 290
Rank in 2011 Poll 234
Top Fans Chambord (7), Zorg (11), Henrik (28)

… unlike other members of the criminally neglected alt-rock trailblazer club—from the Stooges and Big Star to Pixies and My Bloody Valentine—Slint didn’t just fail at becoming the world-beating superstars that their record labels and music-critic boosters alike hoped they would be. Through their initial 1986-1991 existence, Slint were obscure outsiders even within the subterranean confines of the American indie-rock underground.
From a Pitchfork review of the Spiderland box set, April i6, 2014

#167
Elvis Costello
My Aim is True
1977
No. of Voters 18 Score 835.34
Rank in AM 3000 112
Rank in 2011 Poll 94
Top Fans Jirin (20), DocBrown (30), Stone37 (38)

He looks like an aging Buddy Holly. He’s married to this woman. You’re not




#166
Stevie Wonder
Talking Book
1972
No. of Voters 18 Score 837.02
Rank in AM 3000 129
Rank in 2011 Poll 106
Top Fans Henry (5), Stone37 (50), Bruno (69)





#165
Arcade Fire
Neon Bible
2007
No. of Voters 20 Score 838.6
Rank in AM 3000 337
Rank in 2011 Poll 121
Top Fans Maschine Man (16), Daniel (17), DaveC (42)





#164
Guns N’ Roses
Appetite For Destruction
1987
No. of Voters 20 Score 847.55
Rank in AM 3000 61
Rank in 2011 Poll 159
Top Fans Whuntva (15), Listyguy (25), Kingoftonga (36)






#163
The Band
The Band
1969
No. of Voters 19 Score 857.32
Rank in AM 3000 42
Rank in 2011 Poll 149
Top Fans Stone37 (16), Henry (23), Rocky Racoon (43)

From the first song, "Across the Great Divide," there is the impression of starting off on a trek to find the legendary America that exists mainly in the realm of tall tales and songs of Americana - that rugged, individualistic place where men are honest but strong, women hardy, and a great nation to be conquered through hard work and the help of God.
From a Sing Out! Magazine review of The Band, quoted at TheBand.com

#162
Lou Reed
Berlin
1973
No. of Voters 16 Score 858.77
Rank in AM 3000 198
Rank in 2011 Poll 124
Top Fans Romain (4), Zorg (4), Antonius (9)

Lou Reed 1942 - 2013




#161
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin II
1969
No. of Voters 17 Score 862.63
Rank in AM 3000 73
Rank in 2011 Poll 163
Top Fans Bruno (29), Chevisan (38), Henry (64)

[Listyguy]

Where are the "Paranoid" fans?

Who's asking? I don't know any Paranoid fans. I wasn't even there man. That's not my baggie.

[Bruno]

Oh man, many great albums!

[DocBrown]

#160
Sly and the Family Stone
Stand!
1969
No. of Voters 19 Score 864.78
Rank in AM 3000 170
Rank in 2011 Poll 130
Top Fans Henrik (7), Rocky Racoon (13), Listyguy (35)

They were America's first major racially integrated rock band, driven by a leader who seemed to have gone out of his way to recruit not just a mixture of black and white musicians, but the biggest misfits he could find: Cynthia Robinson, a female trumpet player in an age when women didn't play the trumpet in rock bands or indeed anywhere else; Jerry Martini, a long-haired, sandal-wearing hippy saxophonist, who says he'd been "an outcast" in school for loving R'n'B instead of Dave Brubeck. "I wanted people to look onstage and see the world and how the world can get along," says Stone today. "If they could see us, see we were having fun, it might make it easier for them to catch on."
Alexis Petridis, The Guardian, August 29, 2013

#159
Portishead
Third
2008
No. of Voters 18 Score 865.25
Rank in AM 3000 224
Rank in 2011 Poll 182
Top Fans Chambord (37), Chevisan (42), Gillingham (44)




#158
De La Soul
3 Feet High and Rising
1989
No. of Voters 16 Score 866.54
Rank in AM 3000 75
Rank in 2011 Poll 125
Top Fans MaximumBeef (10), Otisredding (31), Honorio (57)

No doubt, this is my favourite hip-hop album, and for a main reason: the sense of humour. Sequenced as a TV quiz show, it works perfectly with the easy flow of the MCs Posdnuos and Trugoy, the masterly scratches of DJ Mase, the varied and unsuspected samples courtesy of Prince Paul and the contagious funky groove. Fun, freedom, positivity. Conditions that hip-hop should never lose.
An RYM review by Honorio

#157
Elton John
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
1973
No. of Voters 16 Score 875.38
Rank in AM 3000 144
Rank in 2011 Poll 283
Top Fans BonnieLaurel (9), PlasticRam (28), Henry (28)

Under the working titles of Vodka and Tonics and Silent Movies, Talking Pictures, Bernie Taupin wrote the lyrics in two and a half weeks, with John composing most of the music in three days while staying at the Pink Flamingo Hotel in Kingston, Jamaica.
From the Wikipedia entry

#156
The National
Boxer
2007
No. of Voters 18 Score 882.04
Rank in AM 3000 292
Rank in 2011 Poll 107
Top Fans Stephan (7), Kingoftonga (13), Gillingham (19)





#155
The Avalanches
Since I Left You
2000
No. of Voters 15 Score 884.24
Rank in AM 3000 305
Rank in 2011 Poll 167
Top Fans Jackson (3), Jeff (3), Zorg (25)


Don't hold your breath. We've been promised a major announcement since 2010



#154
Nick Drake
Pink Moon
1972
No. of Voters 19 Score 887.99
Rank in AM 3000 283
Rank in 2011 Poll 83
Top FansChambord (11), McJagger (30), Chevisan (40)

"Nick was in some strange way out of time. When you were with him, you always had a sad feeling of him being born in the wrong century. If he would have lived in the 17th Century, at the Elizabethan Court, together with composers like Dowland or William Byrd, he would have been alright. Nick was elegant, honest, a lost romantic - and at the same time so cool. In brief: the perfect Elizabethan."
Robert Kirby, a Cambridge friend of Nick's who orchestrated his first 2 albums, quoted at NickDrake.com

#153
Daft Punk
Random Access Memories
2013
No. of Voters 19 Score 890.09
Rank in AM 3000 261
Rank in 2011 Poll N/A
Top Fans PlasticRam (22), Pierre (25), GucciLittlePiggy (32)

I’m usually not a big fan of autotune (probably because most artists that use autotune overuse it to the extreme), but this album is textbook on how to use autotune in a way that is creative, not annoying, and doesn’t take away from the music. Obviously, “Get Lucky” is an incredible song, but there’s so much more here than that. “Instant Crush” is great, and “The Game of Love” is damn good too.
From an RYM review by Listyguy

#152
Bruce Springsteen
Nebraska
1982
No. of Voters 19 Score 890.23
Rank in AM 3000 133
Rank in 2011 Poll 132
Top Fans Dan (20), Nicolas (26), Stephan (50)




#151
Beck
Sea Change
2002
No. of Voters 18 Score 892.62
Rank in AM 3000 328
Rank in 2011 Poll 100
Top Fans Harold (11), Chris K (17), Romain (43)

This is the Beck I love.
An RYM review by Nicolas

[DocBrown]

#150
Beastie Boys
Paul’s Boutique
1989
No. of Voters 15 Score 893.83
Rank in AM 3000 109
Rank in 2011 Poll 111
Top Fans Kingoftonga (3), Nassim (11), MaximumBeef (18)

…that's the nature of the record -- it's so dense, it's bewildering at first, revealing its considerable charms with each play. To put it mildly, it's a considerable change from the hard rock of Licensed to Ill, shifting to layers of samples and beats so intertwined they move beyond psychedelic; it's a painting with sound.
From a review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine at AllMusic

#149
OutKast
Stankonia
2000
No. of Voters 16 Score 896.52
Rank in AM 3000 124
Rank in 2011 Poll 119
Top Fans MaximumBeef (7), Whuntva (28), GuccLittlePiggy (31)

Crafting a sound that incorporates stinky Funkadelic psych with Prince harmonics and Rick James' pimp disco, this is hip hop with the power to convert even the most reactionary nonbelievers.
From a MOJO review, January 2001

#148
Wu-Tang Clan
Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
1993
No. of Voters 18 Score 900.40
Rank in AM 3000 120
Rank in 2011 Poll 197
Top Fans MaximumBeef (4), McJagger (11), Nassim (34)

Emerging in 1993, when Dr. Dre's G-funk had overtaken the hip-hop world, the Staten Island, NY-based Wu-Tang Clan proved to be the most revolutionary rap group of the mid-'90s - and only partially because of their music. Turning the standard concept of a hip-hop crew inside out, the Wu-Tang Clan were assembled as a loose congregation of nine MCs, almost as a support group. Instead of releasing one album after another, the Clan was designed to overtake the record industry in as profitable a fashion as possible - the idea was to establish the Wu-Tang as a force with their debut album and then spin off into as many side projects as possible. In the process, the members would all become individual stars as well as receive individual royalty checks.
Surprisingly, the plan worked
From wutang-corp.com

#147
Nick Drake
Five Leaves Left
1969
No. of Voters 20 Score 905.29
Rank in AM 3000 181
Rank in 2011 Poll 78
Top Fans Nassim (25), Chevisan (28), Henrik (30)

In a sense, I wish I had known this record when I was 20, because it's exactly the kind of music I wanted to make at that time. Beautiful but lonely.
An RYM review by Nicolas

#146
Curtis Mayfield
Superfly
1972
No. of Voters 17 Score 907.36
Rank in AM 3000 173
Rank in 2011 Poll 109
Top Fans Sonofsamiam (14), Henrik (17), Stephan (21)

Curtis Mayfield was born on June 3, 1942, in Chicago, Illinois. He met singer Jerry Butler while performing in a church choir in 1956 and joined Butler's band, the Impressions. In 1970, Mayfield embarked on a solo career, with his most memorable project credited as the classic 1972 soundtrack to Superfly. Mayfield was paralyzed during a 1990 stage accident in Brooklyn, New York, but continued to record until his death in 1999.
From biography.com

#145
The Velvet Underground
Loaded
1970
No. of Voters 17 Score 908.37
Rank in AM 3000 220
Rank in 2011 Poll 138
Top Fans Romain (37), VanillaFire1000 (44), three at 54.

Sterling Morrison once said of Loaded, "It showed that we could have, all along, made truly commercial sounding records," but just as importantly, it proved they could do so without entirely abandoning their musical personality in the process.
From an AllMusic review by Mark Deming

#144
Prince
1999
1982
No. of Voters 17 Score 908.4
Rank in AM 3000 199
Rank in 2011 Poll 200
Top Fans Moonbeam (1), Romain (10), Stephan (43)

Prince pushed himself to his creative limit with this album and the outtakes most associated with it, incorporating inexplicable gurgling sounds, an elephant roar, soldier footsteps and city noises into the mix and they perfectly fit within the framework of the music, almost sounding as if they were intentionally recorded for the sole purpose of inclusion on this album. While the template was in place with Dirty Mind and Controversy, Prince's creativity and confidence allowed him to foster a particular sound for 1999, and this ice-cold amethyst funk that would go on to influence a lot of music in the ensuing years.
From an RYM review by Moonbeam

#143
Massive Attack
Mezzanine
1998
No. of Voters 19 Score 909.36
Rank in AM 3000 326
Rank in 2011 Poll 193
Top Fans Gillingham (6), Pierre (17), Chambord (30)




#142
The Clash
The Clash
1977
No. of Voters 19 Score 911.62
Rank in AM 3000 55
Rank in 2011 Poll 161
Top Fans Brad (2), Rocky Racoon (29), Honorio (46)

Combat rock. A band of politically conscious punk-rockers turning upside down the musical world with ferocious and energetic sounds. The sounds of the white riot, of the burning London, of the lack of career opportunities, of the Brits bored with the USA, of “police and thieves in the street / scaring the nation”, of hate and war. The sounds from Garageland.
An RYM review by Honorio

#141
Serge Gainsbourg
Histoire de Melody Nelson
1977
No. of Voters 19 Score 911.62
Rank in AM 3000 339
Rank in 2011 Poll 176

Top Fans Romain(1), Sonofsamiam (39), Pierre (41), Antonius (41)

The songs are lavishly orchestrated, yet the dominant instrument isn't guitar or organ but rather Herbie Flowers' lascivious, treacly bass, playing a seedy, rambling take on funk.
That bass is the first sound you hear on Melody Nelson, quietly tracking up and down in a windscreen-wiper rhythm: Gainsbourg starts talking in French 30 seconds later, describing a night drive in a Rolls Royce Silver Ghost. The album is routinely described as "cinematic," but the music is more of a mindtrack than a soundtrack…

From a review by Tom Ewing, Pitchfork, March 26, 2009

[Bruno]

Doc, the numbers of the the Serge Gainsburg's album are correct?

I mean, both Clash and Serge have the same AM rank.

[DocBrown]

Doc, the numbers of the the Serge Gainsburg's album are correct?

I mean, both Clash and Serge have the same AM rank.

Thanks, Bruno.

[chevisan]

Good, only one of my top 30 has appeared so far .

It's just me or Bjork will do really well this time around ? Only Medulla and Vespertine have showed up so far.

[Romain]

Doc, the numbers of the the Serge Gainsburg's album are correct?

I mean, both Clash and Serge have the same AM rank.

And the number of voters for The National and The Avalanche (#156 and 155) ?

[bootsy]

One glaring omission for me - Notorious B.I.G. - Life After Death so far.

[Pierre]

It looks like the highest-rated French album will be Discovery. Why not? I love it. I thought RAM had its chances to make it in the top 100, but #153 is pretty high for a first showing.

I wonder where MBDTF will land.

[Dan]

DocBrown, I'm pleased to see that you're not suffering from mid-presentation stress disorder (yet), despite all that exposure to statistics, album covers, reviews, BBCodes and spreadsheets. I thought you said it was going to be a basic presentation. It's not - it's excellent. And thanks for the useful quotes (and humour).

Nice list so far.

[DocBrown]

#140
The Cure
Disintegration
1989
No. of Voters 22 Score 919.13
Rank in AM 3000 286
Rank in 2011 Poll 95
Top Fans Moonbeam (4), GucciLittlePiggy (25), Gillingham (46)






#139
Elliot Smith
Either/Or
1997
No. of Voters 20 Score 919.24
Rank in AM 3000 349
Rank in 2011 Poll 80
Top Fans Nassim (2), DaveC (25), Chambord (41), Listyguy (41)

There are two musicians in the last 20 years that I would absolutely demand to keep making music, if I could. One is Joanna Newsom. The other unfortunately was Elliott Smith. I attended a lot of coffeehouse performances in my time, and when it comes to that quieter side of music, I bet anyone would love to be as good as he was.

Comment by LiveinPhoenix

#138
David Bowie
Station to Station
1976
No. of Voters 19 Score 920.23
Rank in AM 3000 297
Rank in 2011 Poll 241
Top Fans Zorg 9!0), SJner (32), McJagger (47)

In essence, the album is a cry for help from the champagne room: On the hymn-like piano-ballad "Word on a Wing", the career chameleon decries this "age of grand illusion" (tellingly, this LP's Thin White Duke persona would be the last character Bowie introduced), while the title track's momentous prog-disco suite-- with references to Aleister Crowley and Kabbalism-- charts a course from spiritual void toward ecstatic religious reawakening. "It's not the side effects of the cocaine," Bowie declares as the song hits its funky, 4/4 stride, "I'm thinking that it must be love." Rarely have delusions been rendered with such grandeur.
by Stuart Berman in Pitchfork, September 29, 2010

#137
Belle and Sebastian
If You’re Feeling Sinister
1996
No. of Voters 20 Score 921.99
Rank in AM 3000 209
Rank in 2011 Poll 69
Top Fans Luvulong (3), VanillaFire1000(7), GuccLittlePiggy (22)

A Scottish band commanded by Stuart Murdoch that brought back the sensitivity and fragility to 90s indie pop, brought back beauty and humour to grunge times, brought influences like Nick Drake or Burt Bacharach not so usual till then and conquered the bedroom and the heart of many young people with the smart but heartfelt songs from “If You’re Feeling Sinister”.
An RYM review by Honorio

#136
PJ Harvey
Let England Shake
2011
No. of Voters 17 Score 921.37
Rank in AM 3000 166
Rank in 2011 Poll 171
Top Fans Gillingham (18), GucciLittlePiggy (27), Whuntva (30)

Somehow, the recent news that Harvey had frequently received career advice from the late Captain Beefheart didn't come as that much of a surprise. It says something that Let England Shake… an opaque exploration of Englishness delivered in a high, keening voice, that contains not one, not two, but three harrowing songs that explicitly reference the 1915 Gallipoli campaign and a further handful that seem more generally informed by the carnage of the first world war – represents one of the more approachable albums in her oeuvre.
by Alex Petridis in The Guardian, February 10, 2011

#135
The National
High Violet
2010
No. of Voters 15 Score 925.75
Rank in AM 3000 384
Rank in 2011 Poll 185
Top Fans Antonius (10), Kingoftonga (18), GucciLittlePiggy (21)

The National are rousing-rock sad sacks in a time-honored tradition: Joy Division, the Cure, Nick Cave… Singer Matt Berninger's gorgeous baritone is still the band's main selling point: Listen to the mopey sexiness of "Bloodbuzz Ohio" as he describes undressing "at the foot of your love." Yet the tension comes mainly from composers Aaron and Bryce Dessner: The music is some of their lushest and darkest, especially the ghostly, droning "Afraid of Everyone."

by Will Hermes in Rolling Stone, May 11, 2010

#134
Janelle Monáe
The ArchAndroid
2010
No. of Voters 19 Score 929.45
Rank in AM 3000 368
Rank in 2011 Poll 160
Top Fans Maschine Man (24), VanillaFire1000(36), Moonbeam (42)

Take note: a revelation! This young R&B singer, steeped in talent, brings a debut album sounding of maturity and ambition, kind of a funk-opera of science fiction, which visits pell-mell funk, pop, musical comedy, and even rock and folk.
From an RYM review by Nicolas

#133
Daft Punk
Discovery
2001
No. of Voters 21 Score 932.24
Rank in AM 3000 202
Rank in 2011 Poll 148
Top Fans VanillaFire1000 (24), BleuPanda (30), Dan (37)

Abusing their pitch-bend and vocoder effects as though they were going out of style, the duo loops nearly everything they can get their sequencers on -- divas, vocoders, synth-guitars, electric piano -- and conjures a sound worthy of bygone electro-pop technicians from Giorgio Moroder to Todd Rundgren to Steve Miller. Daft Punk are such stellar, meticulous producers that they make any sound work, even superficially dated ones like spastic early-'80s electro/R&B ("Short Circuit") or faux-orchestral synthesizer baroque ("Veridis Quo")
From a review by John Bush at AllMusic

#132
Kraftwerk
Die Mensch Maschine

1978
No. of Voters 16 Score 938.43
Rank in AM 3000 254
Rank in 2011 Poll 196
Top Fans Zorg (2), Kingoftomga (27), Dan (28)

They specialized in concept albums about modern times with futuristic soundscapes, being highways (“Autobahn”) or computers (“Computerwelt”, a premonition of the Internet times). This time the relationship between men and technology (“Die Mensch-Maschine”) and urbanization (“Metropolis”) were the unitary concept, with a cynical take about women-machine (“Das Modell”).
An RYM review by Honorio

#131
Blur
Parklife
1994
No. of Voters 20 Score 938.72
Rank in AM 3000 154
Rank in 2011 Poll 127
Top Fans Romain (29), BleuPanda (42), Nick (49)

If only all Britpop were this good. Then the genre wouldn’t be frowned upon. But then again, this album does sound like true Britpop.
From an RYM review by Listyguy

[Listyguy]

Much like the paranoid fans, the "Parklife" fans are also missing (without the suspicious baggies though).

[DocBrown]

DocBrown, I'm pleased to see that you're not suffering from mid-presentation stress disorder...

Are you kidding? When I'm stressed out I cook. So far this week I've made Tofu Tacos, my famous cranberry/chipotle vegan loaf (what my daughter calls notmeatloaf) and Eggplant Parmigiana. If I die as the first morbidly obese vegetarian, I'm blaming AM.

[Honorio]

I thought you said it was going to be a basic presentation. It's not - it's excellent. And thanks for the useful quotes (and humour).

Agree. Excellent presentation and excellent layout, alternating quotes and photographs. Keep on with the good work!

[Dan]

When I'm stressed out I cook. So far this week I've made Tofu Tacos, my famous cranberry/chipotle vegan loaf (what my daughter calls notmeatloaf) and Eggplant Parmigiana. If I die as the first morbidly obese vegetarian, I'm blaming AM.

Things seemed quite calm on the surface to me. So you're doing the duck thing of looking serene above water but paddling like crazy beneath the water. Maybe you should try Paul McCartney's recipe for vegan enchiladas. It's not very rock 'n' roll but apparently it's good. Then again, it might just make things worse.

Hope it will all be worth it in the end. Thanks again for your efforts!

It's just me or Bjork will do really well this time around ?

It sure looks that way.

[PlasticRam]

I recommended Odessey and Oracle in the recommendation thread cos I thought it would always place somewhere in the 300s like it is in the AM rankings, but then I saw that it placed like 21st in 2011 poll, so maybe I didn't have to recommend it

[DocBrown]

#130
The Magnetic Fields
69 Love Songs
1999
No. of Voters 20 Score 942.51
Rank in AM 3000 231
Rank in 2011 Poll 141
Top Fans Zorg (8). Luvulong (8), Honorio (32)

This triple album is an ambitious tour de force that widely succeeds. From Cole Porter to Abba, from roots to avant-garde, from laughter to tears, no style or sensation is missing in this trip with “love” as common thread. I completely agree with James Hunter from New York Observer about Stephin Merritt: “The greatest living American songwriter right now”.
An RYM review by Honorio

#129
Pulp
Different Class
1995
No. of Voters 18 Score 952.47
Rank in AM 3000 142
Rank in 2011 Poll 87
Top Fans Harold (28), Schaefer.tk (30), Honorio (34)

in May, Jarvis Cocker and company achieved the previously unthinkable and scored a Genuine Hit Record. Common People rocketed to number two, helped by a colourful video starring Sadie Frost and moves from Cocker that would go down in the history of improvisational interpretive dance. Then, the next month, they headlined the biggest music festival on the planet, filling in for The Stone Roses – whose John Squire had fractured his collarbone – at Glastonbury. These two major turns in fortune provided all the momentum necessary to ensure the band’s fifth album, Different Class, would be, commercially, their definitive release.
BBC Review by Mike Diver, 2011

#128
Neil Young
Rust Never Sleeps
1979
No. of Voters 21 Score 960.38
Rank in AM 3000 145
Rank in 2011 Poll 164
Top Fans Kingoftonga (11), Stephan (25), Otisredding (29)

“Rock and Roll can never die”
This album has two versions of the same song book ending it – one electric, one acoustic. That’s actually a pretty good explanation of the album as a whole – an acoustic half and an electric half. Said song(s) also contain some of the greatest lyrics in rock history, “It’s better to burn out than to fade away”. This line was used in Def Leppard’s “Rock of Ages” in the mid-80s, and later used in Kurt Cobain’s suicide note.
An RYM review by Listyguy

#127
Ramones
Ramones
1976
No. of Voters 20 Score 960.88
Rank in AM 3000 38
Rank in 2011 Poll 168
Top Fans Otisredding (47), Jackson (49), Bruno (61)



Tommy Ramone 1953 - 2014

As he has been my friend since I was 10, it’s a deeply sad and personal loss for me, as it is for all the people he held close who loved him, and an entire culture as well. The man who coined the chant “Hey Ho, Let’s Go” went on his way. He keeps going, in our hearts. Move forward, old friend. 1,2,3,4
Mickey Leigh, quoted at JoeyRamone.com

#126
Kanye West
The College Dropout
2004
No. of Voters 17 Score 969.18
Rank in AM 3000 203
Rank in 2011 Poll 102
Top Fans Nassim (5), GucciLittlePiggy (11), Zorg (19)

Kanye wasn't content with being stuck behind the scenes. He rapped too, and saw producing for other artists merely as his entry point into the music business. It was all just an elaborate ruse for him to do his own thing. Still, industry reaction to his rapping was tepid, and this was the height of the street rap era; nobody wanted to hear a middle class art school dropout rap about his feelings. After struggling to land a deal, Roc-A-Fella chief Damon Dash reluctantly signed him in 2002 with the idea that he'd produce a compilation album for the label's roster of talent, which at the time included acts like Cam'ron, Beanie Sigel and the Young Gunz, among others.
From a review by Paul Cantor in Billboard, Feb 10, 2014

#125
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Cosmo’s Factory
1970
No. of Voters 19 Score 973.51
Rank in AM 3000 193
Rank in 2011 Poll 122
Top Fans SJner (8), Gillingham (9), Listyguy (37), Nicolas (37)

They sound like they have a lot of fun playing these fantastic songs. The best tribute to old rock'n roll ever recorded. You wish you were in the studio.
An RYM review by Nicolas

#124
Neil Young
Harvest
1972
No. of Voters 20 Score 981.4
Rank in AM 3000 103
Rank in 2011 Poll 116
Top Fans Nicolas (14), Chevisan (26), Miguel (27)



#123
Arcade Fire
The Suburbs
2010
No. of Voters Score
Rank in AM 3000
Rank in 2011 Poll
Top Fans Dan (19), GucciLittlePiggy (33), Maschine Man (51)


(One of) The actual suburbs of Montreal; Boucherville, PQ, where I spent part of my childhood. Pretty, ain’t it?




#122
U2
War
1983
No. of Voters 24 Score 991.44
Rank in AM 3000 315
Rank in 2011 Poll 192
Top Fans Daniel (11), Listyguy (13), LiveinPhoenix (24)

More than any other record, 'War' is right for its time. It is a slap in the face against the snap, crackle and pop. Everyone else is getting more and more style-orientated, more and more slick. John Lennon was right about that kind of music; he called it 'wallpaper music.' Very pretty, very well designed, music to eat your breakfast to. Music can be more. Its possibilities are great. Music has changed me. It has the ability to change a generation. Look at what happened with Vietnam. Music changed a whole generation's attitude towards war.
Bono, June, 1983, quoted at u2.com

#121
Pink Floyd
The Wall
1979
No. of Voters 19 Score 992.46
Rank in AM 3000 155
Rank in 2011 Poll 191
Top Fans Daniel (13), Luvulong (34), BleuPanda (44)

[DocBrown]

#120
Depeche Mode
Violator
1990
No. of Voters 18 Score 992.59
Rank in AM 3000 437
Rank in 2011 Poll 188
Top Fans Henrik (10), Moonbeam (18), Dan (46)






#119
Massive Attack
Blue Lines
1991
No. of Voters 19 Score 999.33
Rank in AM 3000 37
Rank in 2011 Poll 213
Top Fans Otisredding (33), Pierre (34), Jirin (70)

Programmed rhythms and orchestral arrangements. Scratching and sampling but also playing. Shara Nelson as the soul singer, Horace Andy as the reggae singer and Tricky and the band members as unconventional rappers. A tasty delicacy cooked using a lot of juicy ingredients (dub, house, hip-hop, deep reggae, soul) that created a new flavour for the 90s.
An RYM review by Honorio

#118
Sex Pistols
Never Mind the Bollocks - Here's the Sex Pistols

1977
No. of Voters 19 Score 1002.03
Rank in AM 3000 10
Rank in 2011 Poll 135
Top Fans LivinPhoenix (19), Rocky Racoon (33), Honorio (35)






#117
Frank Ocean
Channel Orange
2012
No. of Voters 20 Score 1004.84
Rank in AM 3000 99
Rank in 2011 Poll N/A
Top Fans GucciLittlePiggy (20), Chris K (26), BleuPanda (31)

Amid the gentleness of Frank Ocean’s major-label début, “channel ORANGE,” there are moments of intensity and grim wisdom that could make a writer reach for a cliché like “Nothing can prepare you for . . .” But the past two years in R. & B. have been ample preparation for Ocean’s revision of the form. Male R. & B. is now less about dancing and more about emotional clarity—a trend that owes more to Ocean than to anyone. If R. & B. was once the main mode of dissembling attractively and seducing openly, it is now America’s confessional booth.
By Sasha Frere-Jones in the New Yorker, July 23, 2012

#115 (tie)
Michael Jackson
Off the Wall
1979
No. of Voters 23 Score 1009.85
Rank in AM 3000 105
Rank in 2011 Poll 219
Top Fans BonnieLaurel (39), Otisredding (52), Bruno (54)

Michael Jackson, just like Elvis, was a singles artist. His albums don't have the consistency of Stevie's or Marvin's. "Thriller" is more a collection of great singles, and "Off The Wall" features absolute masterpieces ("Don't Stop...", "Rock With You", "Off The Wall", "She's Out Of My Life") and decent-to-good songs that here sound like fillers.
But he's a fantastic singer, with a rare feeling. Everything is groovy AND professional.
An RYM review by Nicolas

#115 (tie)
The Flaming Lips
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
2002
No. of Voters 23 Score 1009.85
Rank in AM 3000 196
Rank in 2011 Poll 136
Top Fans Honorio (28), Luvulong (33), Rocky Racoon (38)

Despite this album's disappointing brevity (45 minutes, padded with two instrumentals), its dense production and well-crafted melodies offer long-term replayability. Moments like the Coyne-as-robot "I'll get you, Yoshimi" barely audible in the title track, or the interchangeable "I must have been drifting"/"I must have been tripping" background vocals in "Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell" seem tailor-made for bull sessions around the alien-head bong.
From a review by Will Bryant in Pitchfork, July 15, 2002

#114
Pavement
Slanted and Enchanted
1992
No. of Voters 17 Score 1016.77
Rank in AM 3000 117
Rank in 2011 Poll 120
Top Fans Brad (8), Chambord (20), GucciLittlePiggy (42)

It might make me sound horribly out of touch or like some kind of musical Luddite, but simplicity was once something that indie music took pride in. And there's probably no finer example of this than Pavement's debut effort Slanted and Enchanted, which was released twenty years ago this month.
It's an album that was well regarded at the time and has continued to grace 'best of' lists since. It can sit comfortably alongside other greats of the 90s and arguably vie for a position in the top ten greatest indie albums of all time. And part of what makes it so appealing is the 'stripped-down' sound that it embodied, one that stands as proof that sometimes less really is more.
Jim Keoghan at Quietus.com , April 27, 2012

#113
Eno
Another Green World
1975
No. of Voters 20 Score 1018.47
Rank in AM 3000 245
Rank in 2011 Poll 146
Top Fans McJagger (7), Chris K (21), SJner (43)





#112
Neutral Milk Hotel
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
1998
No. of Voters 19 Score 1021.44
Rank in AM 3000 282
Rank in 2011 Poll 49
Top Fans Harold (3), BleuPanda (15), SJner (20)

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is the best album ever made and all other albums stink, and if you don’t agree, I’ll fight you.
Love, April
PS: They told me this needs to be longer.
April Ludgate, as quoted at Vulture.com, February 11, 2013

#111
Smashing Pumpkins
Siamese Dream
1993
No. of Voters 21 Score 1023.21
Rank in AM 3000 140
Rank in 2011 Poll 150
Top Fans BleuPanda (23), Chris K (60), Chevisan (63)

Whether it was frontman Billy Corgan's near-suicidal bouts of depression, or the agony of touring, or simply their near-brush with stardom, the band quickly found its soul, and by 1993 they had mastered an indelible blend of Gen-X angst and smartly delivered guitar prowess. The Pumpkins were no longer acid headbangers, but purveyors of a far more elegant, melancholic brand of alternative rock, and they had precision in spades: Despite its bristling distortion, Siamese Dream remains an album of meticulous execution, as expertly layered, arranged, and recorded as any rock album from the past two decades.
From a review by Kevin Liedel in Slant July 23, 2012

[Nick]

And as ITAOTS rises on the critics list, it tumbles on our own. Such a shame :/

[DocBrown]

#110
King Crimson
In the Court of the Crimson King
1969
No. of Voters 21 Score 1025.35
Rank in AM 3000 141
Rank in 2011 Poll 155
Top Fans Zorg (18), Jackson (25), DocBrown (40)

After about 30 seconds of silence and white noise, 30 seconds of anticipation, this album kicks in with a riff that makes mere mortals cower in fear. At the time, “21st Century Schizoid Man” had the hardest saxophone riff around
From an RYM review by Listyguy

#109
The Knife
Silent Shout
2006
No. of Voters 19 Score 1038.12
Rank in AM 3000 295
Rank in 2011 Poll 128
Top Fans Nassim (6), Jirin (9), Kingoftonga (10)

As menacing as it is hooky, this is some bracing stuff. It helps that (Olof) Dreijer's arrangements have become more assured and refined over time-- from the rushing percussion and synth flares of "Neverland" to the hall of plexiglass mirrors wonkiness of "We Share Our Mother's Health", he frequently finds a striking balance between minimalism and dissonance. But, as alluded above, (Karin Dreijer) Andersson's vocals do the bulk of the work.
From a review by Mark Pytlik, Pitchfork, February 13, 2006

#108
Pixies
Surfer Rosa
1988
No. of Voters 20 Score 1048.75
Rank in AM 3000 100
Rank in 2011 Poll 108
Top Fans Otisredding (25), Jirin (25), Harold (33)





#107
Fleet Foxes
Fleet Foxes
2008
No. of Voters 21 Score 1055.71
Rank in AM 3000 255
Rank in 2011 Poll 79
Top Fans Dan (8), Nicolas (12), DaveC (17)

The album forges a definite mood, never straying from a tranquil, rustic and almost hymnal tone. It feels as if I've taken a weekend holiday to a remote log cabin amidst some picturesque forest near a mountain range. Robin Pecknold's melodies are crisp, clear and sometimes they soar. The band should be commended for creating such a vivid picture with this album.
From an RYM review by Moonbeam

#106
Otis Redding
Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul
1965
No. of Voters 23 Score 1057.25
Rank in AM 3000 67
Rank in 2011 Poll 123
Top Fans Otisredding (19), Listyguy (39). Rocky Racoon (58)

Born in Dawson, Ga., Otis Redding, Jr. and his family moved to Macon when he was five years old. At an early age he began his career as a singer and musician in the choir of the Vineville Baptist Church. Otis attended Ballard Hudson High School and participated in the school band. He began to compete in the Douglass Theatre talent shows for the five-dollar prize. After winning 15 times straight, he was no longer allowed to compete.

From otisredding.com

#105
DJ Shadow
Endtroducing
1996
No. of Voters 20 Score 1065.54
Rank in AM 3000 78
Rank in 2011 Poll 214
Top Fans Sonofsamiam (9), Jeff (10), BleuPanda (11)

Using hip-hop, not only its rhythms but its cut-and-paste techniques, as a foundation, Shadow created a deep, endlessly intriguing world on Endtroducing, one where there are no musical genres, only shifting sonic textures and styles. Shadow created the entire album from samples, almost all pulled from obscure, forgotten vinyl, and the effect is that of a hazy, half-familiar dream -- parts of the record sound familiar, yet it's clear that it only suggests music you've heard before, and that the multi-layered samples and genres create something new.
From a review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic

#104
The White Stripes
White Blood Cells
2001
No. of Voters 21 Score 1069.77
Rank in AM 3000 148
Rank in 2011 Poll 110
Top Fans Maschine Man (18), Chambord (34), Rocky Racoon (37)

Although your white blood cells account for only about 1 percent of your blood, their impact is significant. White blood cells, also called leukocytes, are essential for good health and protection against illness and disease.
Think of white blood cells as your immunity cells. In a sense, they are continually at war. They flow through your bloodstream to battle viruses, bacteria, and other foreign invaders that threaten your health. When your body is in distress and a particular area is under attack, white blood cells rush in to help destroy the harmful substance and prevent illness.
From the University of Rochester Medical Center website.

#103
Pavement
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
1994
No. of Voters 17 Score 1077.19
Rank in AM 3000 186
Rank in 2011 Poll 73
Top Fans Chambord (6), GucciLittlePiggy (9), Brad (11)

Gorgeous yet unkempt, accessible yet insular, graceful yet slipshod, the album played a pivotal role in shaping the sound of Pavement and the face of indie rock going forward. It is a masterpiece, a record that continues to glimmer with unique brilliance two decades after its release.
By Chris deVille, Stereogum, January 16, 2014

#102
Bob Dylan
The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan
1963
No. of Voters 22 Score 1084.17
Rank in AM 3000 176
Rank in 2011 Poll 145
Top Fans DocBrown (8), BonnieLaurel (32), Schaefer.tk (44)

It was folk music” said Suze Rotolo, who with Bob Dylan walked down the Village street on the album cover, “but it was really rock and roll.”… By the time most people heard Bob Dylan’s own performance of “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “Don’t Think Twice” they had already heard them as someone else’s hits; it didn’t matter.
From the liner notes to Bob Dylan The Original Mono Recordings

#101
Kate Bush
Hounds of Love
1984
No. of Voters 24 Score 1095.34
Rank in AM 3000 176
Rank in 2011 Poll 145
Top Fans DocBrown (1), Luvulong (7), Kingoftonga (21)

I hope that before I die I will hear the perfect album.

In the meantime, there is Hounds of Love.
From an RYM review by DocBrown

[DocBrown]

100 Albums left to go ... it's been a long, strange trip for me, hopefully it hasn't felt too long or strange for you.

I promised the Forum way back in August I'd wrap this sucker in two weeks, and if it's OK by you, I'll stick with that timeline. That gives me about 48 hours for the last 100 albums which seems about right. Barring unforeseen catastrophes, alien abduction or procrastination, I'll be done Tuesday at about 3 p.m. Mountain time. If you want to be the first to know who's #2, join me then; that's 5 p.m. on the East Coast, 10 p.m. in western Europe. Let's make it a party. Hey, Listy, you bring the chips.

[Zorg]

The presentation is amazing. I like the slow delivery, it gives me time to ruminate about the albums that have just been posted and read the wide range of comments (though I wish there were more from AMFers!)

[Henrik]

It's a wonderful trip, Doc! Marvellous presentation with the quotes. I'm very sorry that your number one (and a great choice at that) just missed the top 100. If I were you I would have manipulated the data just a tiny bit.

But really, don't we all wish that all these albums could have been able to make the top 100 too?!?

[Sweepstakes Ron]

If I were you I would have manipulated the data just a tiny bit.

Henrik... is there something you want to tell us about the AM list?

[bootsy]

Enjoy this list. Some of these albums I'd honestly never heard of or thought about listening to and now I am and not regretting it.

[DocBrown]

# 100
Nirvana
In Utero
1993

No. of Voters 23 Score 1099.97
Rank in AM 3000 125
Rank in 2011 Poll 101
Top Fans Listyguy (5), MaximumBeef (40), Rocky Racoon (42)

In retrospect, this album is a Kurt Cobain suicide letter. Many at the time probably interpreted songs such as “Rape Me” as Kurt using too much heroin (which probably contributed as well). It’s very sad that the group’s best album (yes, that’s right, this is better than “Nevermind”) was their last.
An RYM review by Listyguy

# 99
The Stooges
Fun House
1970

No. of Voters 20 Score 1102.81
Rank in AM 3000 93
Rank in 2011 Poll 90
Top Fans MaximumBeef (6), Otisredding (20), Jackson (27)

Three chord wonders? This album’s triumph is that it’s more like three NOTE wonders. Primitive, visceral feelings only, please, as you gaze at what to appears to be Iggy grooving in a pit of lava.
A comment by LiveinPhoenix

# 98
Oasis
(What’s The Story) Morning Glory?
1995

No. of Voters 20 Score 1107.2
Rank in AM 3000 85
Rank in 2011 Poll 75
Top Fans Nick (15), PlasticRam (18), GucciLittlePiggy (29), Luvulong (29)

…pretty much everybody has heard the hat-trick of songs that follow the excellent (but unfortunate) Gary Glitter-referencing opener ‘Hello’ ad nauseam at this stage. The first of those tracks, 'Roll with It', sounds like it was knocked out in about five minutes, but is still infinitely better than the Blur track that beat it to number one. ‘Wonderwall’ is a genuine classic; lyrically, it represents one of the great success stories of Noel’s appetite for simplicity and earnestness, and equally, its three-chord structure should be praised for its economy rather than slated for its lack of sophistication. ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’, of course, leans on The Beatles to the point of parody, but has the singalong credentials to have understandably made it Gallagher’s ‘Hey Jude’.
Joe Goggins, Drowned in Sound, September 25, 2014

# 97
The Replacements
Let It Be
1984

No. of Voters 19 Score 1133.04
Rank in AM 3000 215
Rank in 2011 Poll 129
Top Fans Harold (5), MaximumBeef (21), VanillaFire1000 (49)

Nothing about Let It Be is clean; it's all a ragged mess, careening wildly from dirty jokes to wounded ballads, from utter throwaways to songs haunting in their power. Unlike other classics, Let It Be needs those throwaways -- that Kiss cover, those songs about Tommy getting his tonsils out and Gary's boner, that rant about phony rock & roll -- to lighten the mood and give the album its breathless pacing, but also because without these asides, the album wouldn't be true to the Replacements, who never separated high and low culture
Stephen Thomas Erlewine in AllMusic

# 96
Sigur Rós
Agætis Byrjun
1999

No. of Voters 25 Score 1136.63
Rank in AM 3000 188
Rank in 2011 Poll 174
Top Fans Chris K (23), Zorg (26), Chambord (34)

rumbling, pings, tjúúúú, palindromic strings, bjargv�ttur, the coughing brass intro, bamm bamm bamm, the crecendo, the flute, the simplicity, and it fades out. press play again.
a lot of people have one album that changes their lives, something that in some way alters everything after the first moment the hear it. ágætis byrjun is that album for a lot of people
From sigur-ros.co.uk

[Nick]

And as the biggest lover of both "Definitely Maybe" and "Morning Glory", my status as the AMF's resident Oasis fan is confirmed!

Since Oasis are a somewhat controversial band around these parts, I figure I'll get this out of the way and post my defense of Oasis, a slightly modified version of the one I posted last albums poll...

Other britpop bands like Blur and Pulp crafted excellent pop music while at the same time conveying rather deep messages, primarily ones about the intricacies of British life in the 1990's. But while Oasis never made "smart" music, I wouldn't ever call them disposable.

Oasis don't have particularly deep lyrics. But don't let that fool you, shallow lyrics aren't necessarily bad lyrics, and while Oasis's lyrics certainly have the depth of a tide pool 95% of the time, they don't have bad lyrics, just ones that are (for the most part) kind of meaningless. And that's okay. Because to me it's not about the lyrics, it's about the way the songs make me feel. As Noel Gallagher himself said, in a 2009 interview-

"This writer, he was going on about the lyrics to "Champagne Supernova", and he actually said to me: ‘You know, the one thing that’s stopping it being a classic is the ridiculous lyrics.’ And I went: ‘What do you mean by that?’ And he said: ‘Well, Slowly walking down the hall, faster than a cannonball — what’s that mean?’ And I went: ‘I don’t fucking know. But are you telling me, when you’ve got 60,000 people singing it, they don’t know what it means? It means something different to every one of them.’"

"(What's the Story) Morning Glory?" could be the definitive guide to how to craft a pop song. You have the sprawling "Champagne Supernova", the soaring ballad of "Don't Look Back in Anger", the life affirming anthems of "Roll With It", and "Some Might Say", the endearing "Wonderwall", and five other textbook examples on how to write a pop song. Everything (barring the two short interludes that break the album up and serve as a sort of palate cleanser) sounds like it could be a single. The album sounds just like a greatest hits album would.

What separates an album like "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?" from disposable pop? For one thing the bold attitude that the songs convey. Some might say (no pun intended) that the music is loud and rude, however I disagree. To me it simply sounds like the music of a couple of guys who are really, really, absurdly excited about being alive. If there's one consistent message or theme that runs through the album, it's about being happy. That sounds mundane, but when I listen to the album the term that instantly comes to mind is "life affirming", and throughout this album Oasis has the power to make believers out of nihilists. The album is loud. Everything part of the instrumentation (particularly the guitars) creates spirited atmosphere. To borrow a term from Phil Spector, there's something akin to a "wall of sound" that envelops the album. I don't know how else to explain it. Maybe it's in the layered guitars, maybe it's in the soaring vocals. Everything about the album sounds enormous and bold and proud to be what it is. This isn't some faint disposable pop we're hearing, these are genuine anthems.

Another common criticism is that the music is "derivative". First of all, maybe this is just out of pure ignorance, but I have never ever heard any albums that sound like "Definitely Maybe" or "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?". No other albums have managed to capture that same distinctive "wall" of sound that I hear when I put on either of those albums. I understand that Oasis are influenced by The Beatles, but I honestly would never mistake a Beatles song for an Oasis one. Furthermore, britpop itself is heavily based on the music of bands like The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, and especially, The Smiths. Oasis sound like none of these bands.

In the end, there are albums that are smarter than "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?". There are albums that are more experimental. There are albums that are more complex, more deep, and made by more likable people. But in terms of pure fun, great hooks, and a bold, unashamed love of life, "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?" does it for me (and given the size of Oasis' fan base, it's safe to say I'm not alone here).

Sure, after the one two punch of "Definitely Maybe" and "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?" the quality of their music declined, but there are still great pop songs found on later albums, and a fair amount of those later albums have a majority of solid songs on them. Sure, they never made a full out masterpiece after "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?", but to entirely write off their post "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?" albums would be a huge mistake.

[Henry]

#346
Peter Gabriel
So
1986
No. of Voters 12 Score 458.93
Rank in AM 3000 232
Rank in 2011 Poll 313
Top Fans Pierre (48), Listyguy (56), Stone37 (88)

I had "So" as my #43

[DocBrown]

# 95
The Beatles
Magical Mystery Tour
1967

No. of Voters 22 Score 1144.54
Rank in AM 3000 1080
Rank in 2011 Poll 92
Top Fans Luvulong (9), Stone37 (14), Nicolas (25)

The Beatles devised, wrote and directed a television film called Magical Mystery Tour which was broadcast on BBC Television at Christmas, 1967
It was decided that the soundtrack for the programme would be released on two seven inch discs which would be packaged with a booklet in a gatefold sleeve. The booklet contained stills from the show along with a comic strip telling the story. A lyric sheet was also stapled into the centrespread of the booklet. The EP was a runaway success and reached no. 2 in the UK singles chart, held off the top spot by their own single... "Hello, Goodbye".
In the US, the double-EP format was not considered viable so instead, Capitol Records created an album by placing the six songs from the EP on side one of an album and drawing side two from the titles that had appeared on singles in 1967. These titles were "Strawberry Fields Forever", "Penny Lane", "All You Need Is Love" - their anthem that had been broadcast around the world via Satellite in June. "Baby, You're A Rich Man" and their current single, "Hello, Goodbye". The US release made # 1 in early January 1968 and stayed there for eight weeks. Its initial chart run lasted 59 weeks
From thebeatles.com

# 94
Pearl Jam
Ten
1991

No. of Voters 23 Score 1151.19
Rank in AM 3000 147
Rank in 2011 Poll 243
Top Fans LiveinPhoenix (3), Chris K (5), Whuntva (12)





# 93
Sly and the Family Stone
There’s a Riot Goin’ On
1971

No. of Voters 23 Score 1155.02
Rank in AM 3000 53
Rank in 2011 Poll 137
Top Fans Antonius (19), Bruno (36), Listyguy (36)

This album was released in 1971, in the wake of the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. This had a devastating effect on the band's unique selling point - their reputation as a celebration of inter-racial harmony through the power of soul music (as enormously pretentious as that sounds!).

The music within There's A Riot Goin' On reflects this. It's utterly bewildering, bleak, and possessed of an inspired murkiness not far removed from doom metal. It's still, however, unmistakeably 'soul'. There's a funkiness to it, but it's a lazy, unsettling one.
From a review by Nick Butler, sputnikmusic.com, January 16, 2005

# 92
Kraftwerk
Trans-Europa Express
1977

No. of Voters 22 Score 1161.03
Rank in AM 3000 98
Rank in 2011 Poll 143
Top Fans Kingoftonga (4), Zorg (23), Antonius (32), Otisredding (32)

I have nothing against longer songs per se—I am a big jazz fan, after all. I do ask, though, that those longer songs either move things along throughout, or create a vibe that becomes hypnotic as it progresses. On Trans Europe Express, Kraftwerk manages to do one or the other throughout the whole album. Regardless of whether it’s made with synthesizers or not—which again, I’m not opposed to just on principle—this still comes across as a group of musicians working together in a room, in this case the Kling Klang Studio. Kraftwerk consistently manages to play right in the pocket, which is something that the hip-hop world caught right away. It’s not for nothing, after all, that Afrika Bambaata sampled from this album for his 1982 song “Planet Rock”.
Eric Klinger in Pop Matters, August 3, 2012

# 91
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
1977

No. of Voters 22 Score 1161.03
Rank in AM 3000 98
Rank in 2011 Poll 143
Top Fans Kingoftonga (2), Luvulong (4), Whuntva (10)

Ian Brown started as a bassist, forming a Clash-inspired band called The Patrol with John Squire in 1980. However, the group quickly broke up and Brown is said to have sold his bass guitar to buy a scooter.
Long before the record, Brown, and guitarist Squire, attended Altrincham Grammar School for Boys together.
Both then moved on to South Trafford College, where Brown was expelled and Squire dropped out.
The name ‘Stone Roses’, which would also become the band’s greatest album, was suggested by Squire in 1983, allegedly as a tribute to the The Rolling Stones. It was also the idea that it would be a combination of both the hardness of stone and the softness of roses.
From a Manchester Evening News story by Jack Crone, March 14, 2014

[Bruno]

# 95
The Beatles
Magical Mystery Tour
Rank in AM 3000: 1080

That's the biggest difference of all list so far?

[chevisan]

Nice. Only 2 of my top 30 have showed up, and my top 25 is still intact
Good work btw !

It's just me or Bjork will do really well this time around ?

It sure looks that way.

At this point i don't know if she will do extremely well or extremelly bad. I mean, it's strange that Debut or Post haven't appeared yet (looking forward to see 3 Bjork albums in the top 90 ).

[DocBrown]

# 90
Blondie
Parallel Lines
1978

No. of Voters 23 Score 1162.35
Rank in AM 3000 126
Rank in 2011 Poll 178
Top Fans Harold (34), BonnieLaurel (36), DaveC (36)

They thought we were trashy – unmusical," said bassist Nigel Harrison. "A novelty band." Fortunately for them – and us – they weren't. They were Blondie. Even more fortunately for them – and us – they were discovered playing in CBGB – which was, in the early 1970s, the heart of punk music in New York City – and then brought into conjunction with pop music maestro Mike Chapman.
Chapman – a cheery man with much to be legitimately cheery about, which is itself cheering – basically picked them up, shook the worst of the city grime off them and put them to work, building their third and breakthrough album virtually bar by bar.
Lucy Mangan in the Guardian, August 30, 2014

# 89
John Lennon
John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band
1970

No. of Voters 22 Score 1163.07
Rank in AM 3000 69
Rank in 2011 Poll 82
Top Fans PlasticRam (20), Rocky Racoon (23), Stone37 (26)

Also known as the "primal scream" album, referring to the painful therapy that gave rise to its songs, Plastic Ono Band was John Lennon's first proper solo album and rock & roll's most self-revelatory recording. Lennon attacks and ¬denies idols and icons, including his own former band ("I don't believe in Beatles," he sings in "God"), to hit a pure, raw core of confession that, in its echo-drenched, garage-rock crudity, is years ahead of punk.
From Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time

# 88
PJ Harvey
To Bring You My Love
1995

No. of Voters 25 Score 1178.83
Rank in AM 3000 174
Rank in 2011 Poll 114
Top Fans Henrik (20), Rocky Racoon (25), Jackson (30)

Polly Jean diminished a little the rawness and directness of her previous works and transformed herself into a glamorous, oblique, theatrical and sophisticated diva. And not losing the edge along the way, replacing the explicit representation of female sexual desires by no less disturbing tales of twisted loves and unsettling religious imagery.
An RYM review by Honorio

# 87
Joy Division
Unknown Pleasures
1979

No. of Voters 21 Score 1182.29
Rank in AM 3000 66
Rank in 2011 Poll 81
Top Fans SJner (7), McJagger (21), Chevisan (31)

The band were initially unhappy with the album, feeling that it watered down the loud, heavy sound of their live gigs. However, Peter Hook later noted that he was able to hear Ian Curtis’ lyrics and Bernard Sumner’s guitar parts properly for the first time due to the space given them in the recording.
From shortlist.com

# 86
John Coltrane
A Love Supreme
1965

No. of Voters 22 Score 1187.96
Rank in AM 3000 72
Rank in 2011 Poll 84
Top Fans Sonofsamiam (1), Jackson (4), Antonius (29)

I remember they cut the lights down kind of," says McCoy Tyner, who played piano on A Love Supreme as a member of Coltrane's band in the early and mid-'60s. "The lights were dimmed in the studio. I guess they were trying to get a nightclub effect or whatever. I don't know if it was John's suggestion or whatever. I remember the lights being dimmed."
It made sense to try to imitate the dim-lighted intimacy of a club during the studio recordings, he says, because it was on stage during live shows where the quartet would explore, practice and rehearse new material. He says there was an amazing unspoken communication during the "Love Supreme" sessions. In fact, he says, Coltrane gave very few verbal directions. Tyner calls the album a culmination and natural extension of chemistry honed through years of playing together live.
"You see, one thing about that music is that it showed you that we had reached a level where you could move the music around. John had a very wonderful way of being flexible with the music, flexing it, stretching it. You know, we reflected that kind of thing. He gave us the freedom to do that. We thought of something, 'Oh, then we'll play it,' you know? And he said, 'Yeah, I have a feeling'—you know? And all that freedom just came together when we did that record."
From The Story of a Love Supreme by Eric Westervelt, NPR March 7, 2012

[Jirin]

Fun House that much higher than Raw Power is a surprise to me. To me Raw Power is clearly the more energetic, more exciting album.

[DocBrown]

# 85
Tom Waits
Swordfishtrombones
1965

No. of Voters 22 Score 1187.96
Rank in AM 3000 108
Rank in 2011 Poll 67
Top Fans Antonius (3), Henrik (5), Gillingham (5), Honorio (6)

By the 1970’s, the jazzy nightclub singer was a dying breed. One of the most talented of the remaining stars was Tom Waits, who was heavily influenced by artists such as Frank Sinatra and Thelonious Monk. Then one day in the early 80’s, his wife Kathleen played him the album Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart… and Waits’ career changed forever.
In 1983, Tom Waits released an album that was considered not only a wild departure for him as an artist, but the beginning of the Tom Waits as we know him. The album Swordfishtrombones took Waits from being the club singer who never gave in to what was topping the charts, to the genius who defies description in every way.
From a review by Harrison Mains at Seattle Music Insider

# 84
Joni Mitchell
Blue
1971

No. of Voters 20 Score 1203.34
Rank in AM 3000 49
Rank in 2011 Poll 51
Top Fans DocBrown (9), Dan (17), VanillaFire1000 (18)

For better or worse, we live in a culture where lifelong, monogamous commitments are widely held to be the desired ends of romantic life... For those who buy into this norm, the downside is that in our best-case scenario—our best-case scenario—every single relationship we ever have, except for one, will end and end badly. Otherwise, as they say, they wouldn't end. This repeated inability to stop hurling ourselves toward certain and familiar pain might be evidence of deep-species insanity, but it has also inspired some pretty great art, from Romeo and Juliet to Annie Hall to "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)."
Few artists have explored this subject more carefully and completely than Joni Mitchell.
by Jack Hamilton, in The Atlantic, February 14 2013

# 83
Beck
Odelay
1996

No. of Voters 23 Score 1214.31
Rank in AM 3000 56
Rank in 2011 Poll 99
Top Fans BleuPanda (29), Schaefer.tk (31), Harold (36)

I thought Odelay might be the last time I got a chance to make a record,” Beck says of his 1996 album (either his second or his fourth, depending on how you count). “I was acutely aware that I was thought of as a one-hit wonder. And I had all kinds of people telling me that it was no good, not to put it out. Before it came out, nobody who heard it was saying ‘This is fucking great.’ I really thought it might be a last hurrah.
By Gavin Edwards at rulefortytwo.com

# 82
Björk
Debut
1993

No. of Voters 22 Score 1220.28
Rank in AM 3000 139
Rank in 2011 Poll 180
Top Fans BonnieLaurel (10), Honorio (16), DaveC (32)

Perhaps aware of the musical climate Debut was being released into, Björk's label One Little Indian estimated that the album would sell around 40,000 copies, based on a rough approximation of the Sugarcubes' worldwide fan base. Just three months later, and having peaked in the UK at No 3, it had sold over 600,000 and Björk was well on her way to becoming one of the world's most experimental and thrillingly batshit new pop stars.
by Michael Cragg in The Guardian, July 5, 2013

# 81
The Flaming Lips
The Soft Bulletin
1999

No. of Voters 21 Score 1230.69
Rank in AM 3000 137
Rank in 2011 Poll 77
Top Fans Kingoftonga (1), Jackson (22), Chevisan (27), Schaefer.tk (27)

Contemporaries like Mercury Rev might be in debt to the last century of cosmic Americana, but the Lips are restricted by no such boundaries. 'The Soft Bulletin' is a joyous, celestial celebration of sound. Rhythmic and piano-laden, it's heavenly in both its conception and execution. The songs are a series of dazzling collages of harps, strings, operatic choirs and stereo sound effects. Yet it's still a pop record. Three of the best songs - the brilliant 'Race For The Prize', 'Buggin'' and 'Superman' - are mixed by Peter Mokran, an engineer better known for his work with Puff Daddy and R Kelly.

As ever with the Lips, though, it's not just the sound that makes this a great record, but Coyne's skewed emotional lyricism. Loosely speaking, a concept album, 'The Soft Bulletin' continues his preoccupation with The Great Themes (life, death, good, evil, existence itself), veering from Superman to artificial insemination in the space of a few seconds.

New Music Express, September 12, 2005

[DocBrown]

# 80
Neil Young
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
1969

No. of Voters 25 Score 1231.76
Rank in AM 3000 217
Rank in 2011 Poll 115
Top Fans DocBrown (11), Chambord (19), SJner (23)

… the sound of that record, if you get into the sound of it and you know what’s happening, thinking of the fact that there were three people sitting like you and me, and then another, and six microphone booms coming down, absolutely stoned out of our minds in the studio, singing a song with three guitars going at once… and then you can hear like one voice comes in and out, and that’s ‘cause Danny was rockin’ back and forth. Those things are not featured, they’re just in it. Doing it live and singing and playing all at once just makes it sound more real.
Neil Young, quoted by Elliot Blinder, Rolling Stone, April 30, 1970.

# 79
Björk
Homogenic
1997

No. of Voters 23 Score 1251.34
Rank in AM 3000 252
Rank in 2011 Poll 103
Top Fans Maschine Man (1), Schaefer.tk (7), BonnieLaurel (18)

If she didn't actually invent new melodies, harmonies and chord progressions on Homogenic, it certainly sounds like she did. (Mark) Bell's stiff, rattling electronic beats just barely prop up Björk's ambitious compositions, and there's always a sense that the thing could come crashing down under the weight of an orchestra and the singer's frenzied exclamations.
Review by Sal Cinquemani in Slant, May 6, 2007

# 78
Bruce Springsteen
Born in the U.S.A.
1984

No. of Voters 21 Score 1260.65
Rank in AM 3000 149
Rank in 2011 Poll 134
Top Fans LiveinPhoenix (2), Rocky Racoon (15), Listyguy (16)

While campaigning in New Jersey in 1984, Ronald Reagan said in his speech: "America's future rests in a thousand dreams inside your hearts. It rests in the message of hope in songs so many young Americans admire: New Jersey's own Bruce Springsteen. And helping you make those dreams come true is what this job of mine is all about."

Springsteen talked about this in a 2005 interview with National Public Radio. Said Bruce: "This was when the Republicans first mastered the art of co-opting anything and everything that seemed fundamentally American, and if you were on the other side, you were somehow unpatriotic. I make American music, and I write about the place I live and who I am in my lifetime. Those are the things I'm going to struggle for and fight for."
Speaking of how the song was misinterpreted, he added: "In my songs, the spiritual part, the hope part is in the choruses. The blues, and your daily realities are in the details of the verses. The spiritual comes out in the choruses, which I got from Gospel music and the church."
From songfacts.com

# 77
Patti Smith
Horses
1975

No. of Voters 22 Score 1280.03
Rank in AM 3000 21
Rank in 2011 Poll 85
Top Fans Antonius (11), BleuPanda (39), Jeff (43)


Patti and Neil. Coincidentally both released new albums this June 5.



# 76
Bruce Springsteen
Darkness on the Edge of Town
1978

No. of Voters 22 Score 1311.69
Rank in AM 3000 106
Rank in 2011 Poll 112
Top Fans Nicolas (9), Zorg (15), SJner (26)

Darkness on the Edge of Town is indeed a much bleaker album than Born to Run. I think that’s what I like about this record. Born to Run was too glossy in its over-romanticization of suburban escapism. The escapism is still present in Darkness on the Edge of Town, but it has taken on a much darker tone as the harsh truths of reality start to creep in around the seams. I find it sad in a way that real life beat the untarnished, optimistic escapism out of most of his songs. But those songs that move away from the mythology into the darker side of real life feel much more true to my ears.
Jason Mendelsohn in Pop Matters, January 11, 2013A

[Listyguy]

Two great Springsteen albums in that set...still too low, but glad they're rising.

[Pierre]

Most of my favourites except Loveless are gone by now. I'm somewhat surprised Silent Shout and Channel Orange didn't make the top 100 (less so about Endtroducing....., although it deserves it, at least it climbed 109 places since last poll). Hounds of Love at 101 is already a good placement, but I'm a bit annoyed to see it missing the top 100 behind In Utero, because out of the two, to me the superior album is the former.

[VanillaFire1000]

Big big drops for Vampire Weekend and If You're Feeling Sinister. This top 100 is really shaking up!

[Chambord]

Doc, hate to bother you with yet another check but I had Interpol's Turn On The Bright Lights as my no.14. Accidentally not counted or I just don't appear in the fans list (I got it higher than the 3 mentioned) ?

Fantastic job organizing the poll btw ! Thank you.

[Jackson]

Big big drops for Vampire Weekend and If You're Feeling Sinister. This top 100 is really shaking up!

Not sure if I agree...I was going to comment that the top 100 seems pretty similar considering there are many different voters than there were last time. Only big jumps I see into the T100 are Debut and Ten (but it's not like these albums were totally off the radar before). A Love Supreme, Unknown Pleasures, and others seem pretty glued to their positions. Still very high quality albums, I just wouldn't expect many surprises in the remaining (and no, MBDTF's high placement won't be a surprise...).

[DocBrown]

# 75
Jeff Buckley
Grace
1994

No. of Voters 24 Score 1343.84
Rank in AM 3000 60
Rank in 2011 Poll 86
Top Fans GucciLittlePiggy (4), Pierre (7), Chambord (9)

But Grace, like its creator, is imperfect. Some of the lyrics resemble art college bathroom stall scrawling ("What is life?/What is happiness?/Where is peace?"), and, as with many singer-songwriters who possess truly outstanding pipes, there are times when the gift overtakes the song … But by the time the ethereal "Dream Brother" stretches languidly into silence, all is forgiven. With an eerie couplet as a sign-off ("Asleep in the sand/With the ocean washing over"), Grace comes to a close, a perplexing, occasionally frustrating, but ultimately rewarding deeper glimpse into a singular talent.
by Barry Walsh in Slant, August 3, 2005

# 74
The Kinks
The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society
1968

No. of Voters 24 Score 1349.33
Rank in AM 3000 183
Rank in 2011 Poll 42
Top Fans Jackson (2), Miguel (10), VanillaFire1000 (19)

(The) album opens up like a pop-up book of scrapbook memorabilia from past, present and future perspectives in jumbled order. There are childhood fantasies and horror stories ("Phenomenal Cat" and "Wicked Annabella"), wide-eyed memories of young adulthood ("Do You Remember Walter?", "Village Green"), abstract contemplations about life's transition ("The Last of the Steam-Powered Trains") and purpose ("Big Sky"), allusions to awestruck idol worship from both sides ("Johnny Thunder", "Starstruck"), blissful escape ("Sitting by the Riverside", "Animal Farm") and frustration about the inability of pictures to truly capture the past ("Picture Book", "People Take Pictures of Each Other") covering all sides of human relationships in under 40 minutes. Baroque instrumental drapery gives the entire project a cinematic feel to enhance each feeling, making for a potent emotional tug that never has the chance to overstay its welcome in any particular setting.
From an RYM review by Moonbeam

# 73
Radiohead
In Rainbows
2007

No. of Voters 21 Score 1372.93
Rank in AM 3000 104
Rank in 2011 Poll 45
Top Fans Gillingham (1), Dan (6), GucciLittlePiggy (7)

Radiohead released 'In Rainbows' via their own website, allowing fans to pay as much or as little as they wished.
Some people hailed it as a revolution for the music industry, and a new model for other bands to follow. Others fretted that Radiohead were potentially destroying the careers of thousands of smaller bands by making music seem worthless. There was, it's fair to say, a lot of over-excitement.

Five years on, though, who was right? 'In Rainbows' was a hugely important, influential moment that should inspire today's bands for two reasons.

First: because it showed that the best response to music piracy is to explore new, legal ways to get music into fans' hands. Don't get hung up on the specific method used here – the pay-what-you-want 'honesty box' – but rather see it as a simple example of Radiohead trying something new.

Second: 'In Rainbows' absolutely didn't kill the idea that music should be paid for. What it did do, though, was show that the idea of setting a single, one-size-fits-all price for an album was long overdue a rethink. Not just because a lot of people wanted to pay less or nothing, but because plenty of fans wanted to pay more.

From an NME blog, October 15, 2012

# 72
Sonic Youth
Daydream Nation
1988

No. of Voters 22 Score 1392.97
Rank in AM 3000 65
Rank in 2011 Poll 71
Top Fans MaximumBeef (8), Chambord (29), LiveinPhoenix (31)

Noise rock, as its name suggests, is pretty much just noise. There isn’t much technicality to the music (But Thurston Moore’s guitar work is great), but people still like it (myself included). But, being that them music is, in fact, mostly noise, I can’t get into the really long songs here. A testament to that is the fact that only one of my “favorite tracks” for this album hits the 7-minute mark and it’s the magnum opus of the album, “Teen Age Riot”. I’m willing to go out on a limb and say if all the tracks here were under 4 minutes or “Teen Age Riot”, this album would be even better than it is.
An RYM review by Listyguy

# 71
Björk
Post
1995

No. of Voters 26 Score 1394.51
Rank in AM 3000 243
Rank in 2011 Poll 233
Top Fans BonnieLaurel (3), Romain (12), Maschine Man (21)

I listened to it when we did the surround mixes of it like two or three years ago [Note: Post was re-released in 2006 with surround sound mixes] and I have to say I was kinda surprised how the odd spastic thing of the album had actually aged well. I was very aware of it at the time that I needed to be musically promiscuous and have almost every song [a] different mood/style and so on. The picture on the cover is me on Piccadilly Circus (Times Square of London) too excited, too many things, Bright Lights Big City kinda thing, and me eager to consume. So my musical heart was scattered at the time and I wanted the album to show that.
Björk, quoted at Stereogum

[Zorg]

# 72
Sonic Youth
Daydream Nation
1988

No. of Voters 22 Score 1392.97
Rank in AM 3000 65
Rank in 2011 Poll 71
Top Fans MaximumBeef (8), Chambord (29), LiveinPhoenix (31)

Noise rock, as its name suggests, is pretty much just noise. There isn’t much technicality to the music (But Thurston Moore’s guitar work is great), but people still like it (myself included). But, being that them music is, in fact, mostly noise, I can’t get into the really long songs here. A testament to that is the fact that only one of my “favorite tracks” for this album hits the 7-minute mark and it’s the magnum opus of the album, “Teen Age Riot”. I’m willing to go out on a limb and say if all the tracks here were under 4 minutes or “Teen Age Riot”, this album would be even better than it is.
An RYM review by Listyguy

For me, Daydream Nation is the album that made me think that 4 minute songs are sometimes so so painfully short. Like the quote that DocBrown used for Trans-Europe Express, the songs are either constantly moving, or hypnotic, and it's probably because of Daydream Nation that I love long long songs.

[Jackson]

Too bad the Kinks fell, but that's a great bunch. Man, the Bjork fans really came out for this poll! In contrast to my previous post, that is an interesting difference.

[Jackson]

# 74
The Kinks
The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society
1968

No. of Voters 24 Score 1349.33
Rank in AM 3000 183
Rank in 2011 Poll 42
Top Fans Jackson (2), Miguel (10), VanillaFire1000 (19)

(The) album opens up like a pop-up book of scrapbook memorabilia from past, present and future perspectives in jumbled order. There are childhood fantasies and horror stories ("Phenomenal Cat" and "Wicked Annabella"), wide-eyed memories of young adulthood ("Do You Remember Walter?", "Village Green"), abstract contemplations about life's transition ("The Last of the Steam-Powered Trains") and purpose ("Big Sky"), allusions to awestruck idol worship from both sides ("Johnny Thunder", "Starstruck"), blissful escape ("Sitting by the Riverside", "Animal Farm") and frustration about the inability of pictures to truly capture the past ("Picture Book", "People Take Pictures of Each Other") covering all sides of human relationships in under 40 minutes. Baroque instrumental drapery gives the entire project a cinematic feel to enhance each feeling, making for a potent emotional tug that never has the chance to overstay its welcome in any particular setting.
From an RYM review by Moonbeam

Great interpretation Moonbeam. To me this is the most powerful album lyrically ever made, because it captures the feeling of nostalgia and growing up so perfectly. Most of these songs use specific anecdotes to tell of broader points about life, which is what made Ray Davies such a brilliant songwriter. Songs like "Do You Remember Walter" and "People Take Pictures of Each Other" sound like 60s pop bliss at first listen, but a deeper listen finds a truly powerful search for meaning in life and aching nostalgia for the past. I'll always love this album.

[DocBrown]

# 70
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
1995

No. of Voters 24 Score 1399.64
Rank in AM 3000 187
Rank in 2011 Poll 89
Top Fans Chris K (10), Brad (22), Romain (24)

Contains another bummer experiment, some stereo mystery, but otherwise their best--melodic, literate, compellingly sung; Paul Williams loves it.
From RobertChristgau.com

# 69
Kanye West
My Beatiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
2010

No. of Voters 22 Score 1402.46
Rank in AM 3000 97
Rank in 2011 Poll 74
Top Fans GucciLittlePiggy (1), PlasticRam (9), BleuPanda (12)

I love that Kanye West, the self- and society-anointed international asshole, not only frames his album with the questions, "Can we get much higher?" and "Who will survive in America?" but also borders his fantasy with the faux British voice of Nicki Minaj and the grainy revolutionary voice of Gil Scott Heron. Within this frame, with all the guest verses and distorted vocals, it's obvious Kanye West believes that plenty of voices, other than his own, also deserve to be explored in his beautiful dark twisted fantasy.
From an article by Kiese Laymon at Gawker.com, August 25, 2012

# 68
The Zombies
Odessey & Oracle
1968

No. of Voters 26 Score 1410.84
Rank in AM 3000 338
Rank in 2011 Poll 23
Top Fans PlasticRam (3), Dan (11), Jackson (14)

While it wasn't exactly "freakout" music aimed at squares, Odyssey and Oracle is still notable for its experimental bend. The Zombies convinced EMI to let them record it at Abbey Road free of all corporate influence (read: no producers), allowing the band to indulge whatever musical fantasies they came up with. Some members of the band-- most prominently keyboardist Rod Argent-- would go on to careers in prog-rock, and seeds of that genre poke through here. The first clue is an unhealthy preoccupation with historical and literary figures, from the Shakespeare quote in the liner notes, to the Faulkner-derived "A Rose for Emily", to "Butcher's Tale (Western Front 1914)"-- inspired by bassist Chris White's WWI obsession-- The Zombies wore over-education on their sleeves. In many ways, Odessey foretells the flowery baroque prose of 10-minute prog epics to come.
From a review by Liam Singer at Pitchfork, August 1, 2004

# 67
Van Morrison
Moondance
1970

No. of Voters 22 Score 1421.88
Rank in AM 3000 92
Rank in 2011 Poll 47
Top Fans OtisRedding (2), Honorio (13), Miguel (14)

“Astral Weeks” got all the acclaim but “Moondance” is my favourite. And both albums couldn’t have been more different. The improvised and free-form “Astral Weeks” gave place to the meticulously arranged and root-based “Moondace”, with traces of soul, blues and even swing. But both albums have similar curative effects, the perfect prescription for healing your tired and damaged ears.
From an RYM review by Honorio

# 66
The White Stripes
Elephant
2003

No. of Voters 27 Score 1433.44
Rank in AM 3000 79
Rank in 2011 Poll 98
Top Fans Maschine Man (5), DocBrown (7), Jirin (10)

Elephant was laid down in east London's Toerag Studios for just £5,000, on analogue equipment built before 1963, whereas the sleeve notes boasted that it was recorded and mastered without using a computer. This stripped-back approach to rock'n'roll influenced countless Stripes imitators at the start of the decade, but nobody matched Jack and Meg when it came to creating a colossal sound out of such basic ingredients
From The Guardian.com music blog Albums of the Decade